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According to legend, Koapar and Knakkt were twin brothers who founded trading houses. Knakkt was wounded in battle and vowed to serve his brother. From Koapar comes the Merchant caste, and from Knakkt the Servant caste.[1]

The majority of Orzammar's goods pass through the hands of merchants, sold to surface traders or within Orzammar itself. As space is limited in the Orzammar Commons, only very old, highly respected, or especially savvy merchant dwarves own shops.[2] The rest must make do with temporary stalls. Permits for choice spots are costly and may require bribes or special dispensation to acquire. Only approved merchants may sell goods in the Diamond Quarter.[3]

The Merchant caste was once in higher favor than it is now. Its members once served as ambassadors from Orzammar to the surface, but the wealth this trade produced caused many merchants and their families to break ties with Orzammar and dwarves as a whole to keep the profits for themselves.[2] These dwarves left for the surface. It was this exodus that formed the first group of casteless surfacers. This betrayal of the caste system left a lasting rift in dwarven society from which the Merchant caste has never recovered, and their esteem among other castes has been diminished ever since.

Merchants often hire casteless for very few money to enter the Deep Roads and collect deep mushrooms which are prized in both Orzammar and the surface, a dangerous task due to the everlasting presence of darkspawn.[6]